Come Back Home
by The Wandering Swordsman
Summary: AU. Ace POV. After an event, Ace hasn't seen Zoro in years. Suddenly, Zoro was in front of his house. Ace wants to know why and what caused him to come back. It seems that Zoro's boyfriend, Sanji, is the cause. SanjixZoro, unrequited Zoro-Ace. Eventually AcexZoro. Rated M for cursing.


**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.**

"_Good morning! This is Super Dōjo! How may I help you-!?"_

"_Hey Franky. It's me."_

_The rehearsed phrase was cut short, and the voice grew happier in a sense. "Hey! What's up? Oh oh? Are you going to say you're going to be late for work?"_

"_I wish. Can I take a break off from work?"_

"_Oh? Why?"_

"_A relative of mine passed away this morning. My grandma-"_

"_Stop! Don't say anymore! You know that stories like this makes me...me...me-" The voice started to waver, and soon there was a huge, loud wail. _

"_Um...so, will that be alright?"_

"_Hurry up and go!" Franky wailed, "Go and see your grandma for the last time-!" The phone suddenly hung up. Franky probably dropped it on accident. The cell phone was closed, and a lonely man stared outside a window. The sun had set, so there were tiny spots of light emitting from clustered houses in the distance. The landscape was whizzing past like a blur as the train took the man, along with several travelers toward north. _

-.-.-

This morning, I found my friend standing in front of my house. It was so sudden that I thought he was a ghost. He looked a little bit confused, as if he came here without knowing why. I haven't seen him in years, so he changed-but not as much as I thought. He still had the 'countryside' look and the short, cropped green hair. But he did have three golden earrings, and only on one side of the ear too. I guess he was able to openly express his sexuality in the city, unlike this small, strict town.

The first thing I noticed was a strong scent of wine. I saw that his clothes had blotches of faded wine all down his shirt and pants. Although the trip from here to Grand Line City took a day long, he wasn't carrying a luggage. His eyes were red, but that wasn't what bothered me. The way his eyes looked. It looked so sad.

It kind of reminded me of the time when-

I smiled and reached out a hand. "Welcome back Zoro."

The eyes flickered in weak ember, and he looked up, "...Ace."

"That's me."

Zoro let out a small sigh, and suddenly he lost his balance. I ran up to catch him before he fell. In my mind, nasty, dirty things flowed through. What else could I come up with after seeing him with sad eyes and his body smelling like alcohol? But a soft snore cut me off. He had fallen asleep. I knew that he didn't have narcolepsy; that was me. So something in his body that was urging him to get here finally switched off like a switch. Somehow, I took him inside. I didn't know why I did that. Someone in the village might've spotted us. But at the time, all I could think was to give him shelter.

-.-.-

_Zoro crinkled his nose when Sanji sprayed another pint of cologne on himself. He was already spraying fifteen seconds worth of spray; did he need that much? Besides, when did he start wearing this much cologne? _

"_Sanji," Zoro pinched his nose, "You smell. Why do you need to put that much on?"_

_Sanji stopped to turn to Zoro. The blond let out a light chuckle, "It's to get rid of my scent."_

"_But isn't that too much?"_

_Sanji laughed. "When you go to a place with a lot of people, lots of smells stick on you." _

_As Zoro watched Sanji resumed spraying, a tiny voice whispered in his ear. It was wondering if his boyfriend was spraying to camouflage a certain scent..._

-.-.-

Zoro woke up around two o'clock. Fourteen hours of sleep. Boy, he must've been really exhausted. No wonder his eyes were so bloodshot. He stared blankly at the ceiling and slowly began to realize where he was. He turned to me and let out a small sigh.

"Ace..."

"Hey kid." I leaned down to scan his face, "Long time no see."

He turned away and ran a hand tiredly through his hair, "W-Where am I?"

"You're back home. Er, I mean, in Shimotsuki."

Zoro stared toward the shouji doors with a dead expression, "I'm home..."

"Yeah." I sat back on my folded knees, "Zoro, did something happen at the city?"

There was a faint movement of the shoulder. Zoro was good at hiding his emotions, but whatever happened a few days ago seemed to prevent him from hiding it completely.

"...Ace."

"Hm?"

"Can I stay here for a while?"

I hesitated. I really want to know why Zoro left Grand Line City. He left solely because he didn't belong here anymore. People like him weren't allowed: men who like other men. A dark, sick feeling welled in my throat, but I shoved it down. Why did he return to a place where no one wanted him back?

"Why?" I asked.

Zoro buried his lower part of his face into the blankets, "I don't want to go back. I have nowhere to go." He finally looked at me, "And...can you promise me not to tell anyone that I'm here?"

I don't know why I said yes. I was like everybody else in town. Maybe it was the way Zoro looked at me. It brought back memories of the last year of high school, a week before Zoro ran away.

I was the only one who lived in this old, nostalgic kid of home. The shouji sliding doors, the paper windows, the light green tatami floor were something people in the busy East didn't look for in homes anymore. I lent Zoro a yukata and let him stay in the guest room. I even promised to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for him, so he wouldn't need to get out of here. No one would suspect that someone was living with me since I eat as much as three men put together. I was stupid and naïve. I should have told him to leave town. I kept scolding myself, yet here I was carrying a tray of fried fish and miso soup into the Zoro's room.

Zoro ate slow and very little. Was this how city people ate or was something still bothering him? I was curious. Probably anyone who was in the same situation as I was would be as curious. So, I asked again.

"Zoro, um, are you comfortable enough to tell me what happened?"

"How's everywhere here?"

"Zoro..." I sighed and decided to go along with the topic. After a few minutes of talk, maybe he would open up. "It's the same. You didn't see anyone today because everyone's out in the fields. You know, spring's coming soon."

"I miss helping out in the fields..." Zoro pulled a small smile, "I haven't done it in years."

"Do you miss it?"

"There aren't any fields in Grand Line." Zoro chuckled, "Concrete and asphalt everywhere."

"There are any trees? No dirt? No flowers?"

"There are flowerbeds and parks, but it's...different. It's like they're just there to look natural."

"I can't imagine that. How do people live through that?"

"They're really normal about it. I don't think people over there even stop to look at the flowers."

"Wow...I don't think I'll be able to live there."

Zoro stared at me for a second with that look, so I stopped what I wanted to say and returned to the first topic. "Zoro...can I at least know how long you're going to stay here?"

Zoro raised his head slowly and his lips moved slowly. He was counting up the days. I guess he wasn't going to leave any soon because he was calculating for a while.

"I don't know," He finally answered, "but longer than a week, shorter than a month."

"A month?" I took the longer alternative. If he stayed for a month, sooner or later the villagers would find out. And I might be put to blame too. "W-What about your job?"

"I told...I _lied_ that I was leaving to go to a funeral. Franky's kind. He said I can stay as long as I want."

"Zoro...why-"

"I'll try not to be a bother Ace...I'll be quiet, and I won't go out either."

"Won't you be bored?"

Zoro shook his head and then pushed the tray of food back to me. The fish was half eaten, but he drank all of the miso soup. "I'm sorry I left some."

"It's alright. You just woke up."

"It was good."

"Thanks."

I wanted to start another conversation, but Zoro closed himself like a shy clam. There had to be some way to know what happened at the city. I had a small hunch though: his relationship with a man.

After a month since he left town, he had given me a letter under a pseudonym. I had opened them, but never replied. Still, he sent me letters. He talked about what he was doing and where he was. He'd traveled to different places, and he ended up at Grand Line City. He made a lot of friends there; some I wanted to meet and others...not as much. The last letter startled me because it was embarrassing. Zoro was going out with a man; a bisexual to be exact. A person loving a man and a woman; I couldn't understand it.

His boyfriend was a restaurant chef that could make foods that I've never heard before. He seemed like a classy, nice kind of guy. Zoro sent me a photo of them together. I tore it up along with the letter because I was told that it was repulsive to see two men holding hands. The only time I wrote to him back was to tell him to never send me messages again. I felt bad for writing it, but I didn't want the townspeople to know that I was receiving letters from him.

If I could recall, he had wheat colored hair (Zoro wrote _golden_) and dark blue eyes. He also had very bone-white skin. He looked kind of ill to me, but I guess those kinds of people were everywhere in the city. They seemed to get along like good friends, except they kissed and did other stuff. Maybe something happened between them?

Anyways, I was going to know tonight, and there was only one way to do it.

Booze.

And tons of it.

-.-.-

_Zoro was talking to Sanji when he was cut off by a fast, upbeat song. It was Sanji's ringtone. He had several ringtones downloaded, but Zoro knew that wasn't the default song. Someone who had that specific ringtone was calling him frequently: two or three times a day. _

_Sanji quickly got the phone out. He didn't need to look at the LCD anymore, so he excused himself. Zoro watched him leave the room and close the door. Sanji was outside and paced around the lawn whilst talking. Occasionally, he laughed cheerfully._

_Zoro wondered who Sanji was talking to. He had asked, but Sanji told him it was business. Always business. _

_One time, Zoro peeked into Sanji's contacts. There was a list of people whom Zoro had never heard before. Most of them had nicknames or initials, so it was already hard to tell. Lots of them were women. One of them, named Kukki, was majority of whom Sanji talked to. She was in the recent contacts, and they were sending text messages to each other. _

_He didn't get to read the messages because Sanji caught him snooping. Immediately, Zoro got a scolding that lasted a whole hour. It was something about country people never understanding what privacy meant or whatever. Still, Zoro wanted to peek because Kukki bothered him greatly. Was Kukki really someone who was only business? He asked Sanji, but he only glared and told him it was none of his business. When Zoro got another chance to look at Sanji's phone, he could not get in._

_Sanji had locked the phone. _

-.-.-

Zoro looked surprised when I laid out bottles upon bottles of alcohol. I had stored some for myself, but mostly I bought at the nearby sake factory. Fresh sake always tasted good. I also bought the strongest sakes they offered because I remember one New Year's Day, Zoro drank a whole bottle of sake like water. He was perfectly fine, but for some reason my parents scolded me for not supervising him (he was still in middle school). That was unfair.

"Here," I said as I poured him a glass, "It's been a while since we've seen each other. We should toast."

Zoro took the glass but stared at me with a doubtful expression. I kept a smile on my face to prove I had no tricks up my sleeve. I really didn't have any tricks; I just wanted to get him drunk. People talk a lot when they were drunk.

Zoro finally accepted the drink, and we shared a toast. I tried to drink a minimum because I wanted to stay sober to hear and know what Zoro was going to say. That was supposed to happen really, but reality never went as planned. Time, I don't know, I thought it was thirty minutes but I guess we've been drinking for over an hour. Finally, it seemed that Zoro was showing signs of being drunk. Unfortunately, I was too.

The room was spinning. It was kind of neat.

"So, Zoro..." I tried to say through the slurs, "W-What happened at Grand Line?"

"Ahhhhh," Zoro smirked, "I knew it. I knew you were planning something."

"Aww, come on Zoro! Tell me!"

"Do you want to know?"

"Of course I do!"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Of course I do...what?"

"I said...why do you want to know?"

"Why? Well, I want to know why you're suddenly here."

Zoro suddenly avoided my gaze and stared at the cup in his hand, "...but I thought you didn't like hearing about fags."

Suddenly, my mind became clear, and I stared at my friend. He was facing down, but it brought back the memories of when it was my high school graduation day.

I swallowed and didn't know what to say, but the effects of alcohol worked again. Zoro started talking, blabbering about what happened.

"I found out something yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

"Oh, wait...two days ago? What's today?"

"The seventeenth."

"Oh, then it's three days ago." Zoro picked up a glass and poured a sloppy cup, "There's this day called Valentine's Day. It's always on February 14."

"What's that?"

"It's something that city people do, but it's the day when you spend time with the people you like. If people like you a lot, you'll get chocolate and tons of flowers."

"That's kind of neat."

"I wanted to give Sanji a gift, so I bought a box of chocolate, roses, and wine. Remember how I smelled like wine?"

"Y-Yeah?" I hesitated on answering that because Zoro's face immediately turned sour.

"It spilled on me because I threw it on the ground! I stepped on the flowers and chocolates too! Right in front of our apartment!" Zoro suddenly raised his voice, so I waved my hands to urge him to lower his voice. He wouldn't listen, of course. "Do you want to know why?"

"Er-"

"T-that bastard..." Suddenly, Zoro choked, and I saw him began to sob. I reached out to touch him, but my hand hovered over his back. In a weak voice, he began telling in great detail what had happened that night.

-.-.-

_When Zoro walked to their apartment, someone was already there. It was Sanji, but he was not alone. A young woman with a city town like demeanor was pushed against the wall, and Sanji was devouring her lips. Zoro froze in his place and stared at this atrocious scene. _

_Zoro knew this woman must be Kukki. She had the voluptuous, semi-revealing breasts, the long, curled amber hair, and blood colored rogue on her seductive lips. She looked like she knew the recent trends because she was carrying expensive brand-name purse and wearing pretty famous bracelets. She was younger than Sanji, but because of the heavy makeup she looked older. The couple was fully drunk, and they looked like they returned from a party. Sanji was wearing his favorite dark gray suit with a pretty red rose pinned on his breast pocket. Kukki wore a long, revealing red dress with the same red rose in her hair. Sanji had told him that he was dressing up for a formal business party. It didn't look like it by the several smeared rogues on his dress shirt. _

_Sanji's hands were sliding up her bare thighs when Zoro let out a small gasp. The couple looked towards them. They didn't show any signs of surprise, and Zoro assumed it was because they were so drunk. He __**hoped**__ it was because they were drunk._

"_W-What are you doing?" Zoro managed to utter. He tried to control his breathing and anger, but all he wanted was to tear the woman off of Sanji and shove her down the stairs. The couple still stared at him, as if they didn't know who he was. The trembling of his body intensified. _

"_Who is she?" Zoro yelled, "Is she Kukki!? Sanji! Don't just fucking stand there! Answer me!"Sanji moved slightly when Zoro shouted. He dropped his arms down and slid them into his pant pockets. Sanji looked up, and the eyes were a hazy blue tonight. He looked strangely calm._

_Then, Sanji smirked. "Stupid Shithead, don't you know what bisexual means? That means I can fuck a man __**and**__ a woman at the same time. If I only fuck you, then I'll be gay."_

_Kukki let out an obnoxious snort and cackled in laughter. "Wow! He's so dumb!"She slapped Sanji's back, and Sanji began to laugh with her. _

_Zoro knew he shouldn't go by his instincts; Sanji was drunk. But rage and utter betrayal took over his system. He threw the bag onto the ground, shattering the wine bottle into shards. He stomped the chocolates and the roses until they were flat and ran down the hall. The last sound he heard was the couple laughing at him. He could hear them calling him stupid as they entered the apartment to enjoy the night to themselves._

_Zoro didn't realize where he was running, but he vaguely remembered going on a train and calling Franky. Where was he heading and where could he go? He couldn't go back to Shimotsuki; no one accepted him anymore. Not even Ace._

_Tears were falling out from his eyes and he brought his hand up to pinch his nose. Why did he want to believe that Ace was different from the others? After all these years, did he still-?_

_When he came to, Zoro was standing in front of Ace's house and his friend was staring back at him._

-.-.-

When Zoro finished telling his story he was bent over and squeezed the tiny glass in his shaking hands. He rubbed his hands over his wet face, but he didn't look up.

"This always happens to me..." Zoro whimpered while his forehead pressed against the tatami floor. I've never seen him so disheveled with his emotions. Then again, I've never seen him drunk before. But, that boyfriend of his-what was his problem? Bisexual or not, he should stick to one person.

Zoro found another bottle and started to drink it all down, and that was when I decided that it was time to go to bed.

"Zoro," I said while I gently took the bottle out of Zoro's hand, "It's enough. Let's go to bed."

"Ace..." Zoro's hand went limp because he was unable to reach for the bottle, "...why did you let me in?"

I dropped the bottle and it fell on its side. The contents spilled out and it made a large, dark spot on the tatami floor. The strong aroma of alcohol filled the air and my hand flew to my nose and mouth. I felt eyes on me, but I couldn't raise my head. I didn't want to look at him because I knew he was giving me that look: the look of rejection.

"I-I know I'm not wanted here...you could've told me to get out." Zoro's frame quivered, "I know that everyone hates me...and you hate me too."

"No, Zoro, I-"

"But you told me-when I said 'I love you'-you said..."

"Don't say it-"

Zoro hesitated because he was racking a sob, "you said you didn't want to go to hell-" He bit his quivering lips and big pearls of tears fell onto the wet tatami floor. "Why Ace? ...if you hate me so much, why did you let me in?"

The only reason why I think I did what I've done next was because I was drunk. No, idiot, it wasn't because I was drunk. It was because I finally unleashed my true emotions. I didn't want to hurt Zoro anymore.

I embraced the body I wanted to hold for the longest time. Zoro knocked his glass over, and the sake joined with the spilled puddle. I squeezed him and rubbed my hands down his back.

"...I don't hate you, Zoro. I...I love you."

Zoro sucked in a harsh breath. A ragged sigh blew into my ears.

"Why didn't you say 'I love you' then?" he asked in a small whisper.

"I don't know."

Of course I know. I was a fucking coward. I didn't like how I became something the townspeople despised. I loved Zoro, but I also loved this town, my birthplace. If I lied to myself, I could live here.

"I'm sorry Zoro...I'm sorry I hurt you." I felt Zoro squeeze the back of my shirt, and he let out a cry. He cried in my chest for a long time. I could feel his tears seeping into my yukata, and I could feel mine falling down my face.

Then, Zoro looked up and kissed me. I kissed back the lips I've longed to feel against mine. They were soft and felt perfectly natural. I ran my hands through his soft, green hair and kissed him deeper. Zoro let out a muffled moan, but I didn't let go. I wanted to kiss him until we were out of breath, and then kiss him some more.

The cuckoo clock chirped eleven times, and I stopped kissing and touching him. It was getting late, and although I wanted to spend time with him, I remembered that he still had someone. Reluctantly, I told him that it was getting late and we should head off to bed. Zoro peered up and slowly nodded in agreement. I helped him get up and took him to his bedroom. The talking must have exhausted him since he usually never talked this much. I tucked in him and gave him one more kiss on the lips before I headed to my room to sleep.

Letting my emotions go free, I remembered the true reason why I tore that picture. I was jealous when Zoro wrote that he got a boyfriend. Times had changed and he found someone new; it was me who was still holding back and regretting.

Zoro still loved me.

This feeling made me sleep with a lighter heart.

-.-.-

The next morning, I woke up as usual-before the sun rose-and made breakfast. I had pickled senmai zuke, but since Zoro was here I decided to make something else. I chopped up some vegetables and made nimono. Oh, and I also made miso soup because Zoro really liked it. Zoro didn't wake up until eight, so I had to reheat the food.

He ate a lot more than yesterday. He even asked for seconds with the rice.

We were in a middle of eating breakfast when I heard someone running to my house. I stood up and quickly headed to the front door. The doors of our home didn't have locks because there rarely was anyone breaking in except wild raccoons. I didn't want any neighbors coming into the living room to see Zoro.

It was the neighbor, Ririka-san, and she looked worried.

"Ace-chan, O-Nami saw a ghost at the train station."

"A ghost?"

"Yes, she said that it had white skin, yellowed hair, and dead blue eyes. I've never heard of such a thing in my life-"

I heard a sound of a bowl falling onto the floor and a shuffle of steps. Before I could yell out, Zoro was standing near the hallway with a pale expression. Ririka let out a sharp gasp, and she glared at him.

"Zoro... Then she glowered at me and hissed between her clenched teeth, "why are you keeping him here?"

"D-Don't worry Ririka-san...I know who the man is..." Zoro answered.

"You've brought him!? Then he must be _one of those_...hurry up and leave before everybody finds out!" Zoro nodded sadly and quickly stepped down to put his shoes on.

"Ririka-san, why are you mean to him? You always made rice ball lunch boxes when we went to school-"

"That's because I didn't know he'll become-oh how repulsive! Ace-chan, when he leaves don't forget to salt your house!" I really didn't like how loud she was telling me this when Zoro was nearby. I kept my lips tight because I didn't want to yell back.

I told her to stay here and maybe salt the house while she was at it because I wanted to be the only one to escort Zoro to the train station. She would be really annoying by talking about the nastiness of whatever and whoever and warn me to never be like Zoro-when I already am. She happily obliged.

The train station was a mile and a half away from the village. The whole time, I held Zoro's hand. We talked about nonsense and nostalgia: the things that had been, could have been, and might happen. I kind of wished our time lasted longer. I just confessed my love to Zoro, and soon he was going to be out of my reach again. I was expecting his boyfriend to come days or a week later, so this was a surprise and a disappointment. But I guess that means his love for Zoro was still strong. When we were getting close to the station, I saw a slender figure. I slipped my hands away from Zoro's and approached the man with a flat smile. The man looked better than in the photo, but he looked really disheveled. He looked a little better when he saw Zoro.

"Who are you?" Sanji asked with a suspicious eye.

"I'm Ace. Zoro's friend."

"Ahhh..."

"And you?"

"Sanji, his boyfriend..." He quickly ignored me and turned to Zoro, "Zoro, I-I don't know what to say...I was drunk-"

"I know..." Zoro replied quietly.

"I-I'm sorry Zoro. I'll never do it again, I promise. I dumped Kukki, so it's over now." I didn't like the way the man was rushing into things. It was as if he was saying the relationship between him and Kukki was over, but sooner or later he was going to find someone new. He was going to hurt Zoro again; I could feel it whisper in my bones.

Zoro was still in love with this man because he quickly forgave him. A smile formed on Zoro's face and he hugged him. My heart sank because I was subtly looking forward to a different ending.

"Come on Zoro, let's go home." Sanji urged.

"Yeah, before everyone starts coming to the station." I added.

Zoro looked at us and nodded.

"I'll go get the tickets." Sanji said as he ran off to the ticket booth.

"Bye Ace." Zoro said rather sadly, "Thanks for letting me stay."

"Not a problem."

"Zoro! Show me how to use this thing!"

Zoro was about to go, but I reached out to hold his hand one more time. He stopped and turned to face me. I gave it a firm squeeze like a handshake and smiled at him.

"This time, I'll write you a letter." Surprise and pure glee filled Zoro's beautiful face. I wanted to kiss him here right now, but the thought of his boyfriend prevented me. I gave one last strong squeeze, and he squeezed in return.

Within minutes, the train left the station, carrying Zoro and Sanji back to Grand Line. I waved at them and continued on waving until the train was only a speck. I think Zoro knew that this might happen again. Maybe Sanji was going to cheat on him with another woman or maybe a man, and Zoro would feel hopelessly alone. I held his hand before he left because I wanted to remind him that he was not alone, and I would always be there to help him.

If there ever came a time when Zoro was broken up again, I wanted him to know that there would always be a place for him to come back home.

**The End**


End file.
